


Sick Day

by Davechicken



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7749466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Davechicken/pseuds/Davechicken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hux isn't good at being sick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sick Day

The first hint is in the morning briefing. Kylo dislikes this one most of all, but if he doesn’t attend then General Hux will try to pass more ridiculous ad-hoc executive decisions, and Kylo has to make sure the little maniac is kept in check. The first time a decision was made in his absence and he found out to his inconvenience days later, he’d vowed to never be bitten twice. 

He’s tired, his eyes grit, his mouth feels like a Rancor’s litter tray, and he keeps thinking about the way the light flickering is almost (but not quite) rhythmic. A tune riffs inside his head, and then there’s a strangled noise like someone died. Kylo looks up in confusion, seeing the General’s face blaze like his hair. His nose looks red, his eyes blinking fervently, and Kylo realises that squawk was a denied sneeze. 

Weird. Sneezing is normal. Kylo hates them inside his helmet, but he rarely gets them himself. He’s not sure if Hux just doesn’t want to break his monologue, but then he does it again and barks out an abrupt ending to the meeting. 

Shortest meeting ever. 

Well, that’s fine. 

***

Hux storms up and down like normal, but Kylo watches in confusion. He’s clearly not well, suffering some minor respiratory virus, which just needs an immuno-system booster or weathering out, but he acts like he’s not ill at all. His pace quickens, his diligence sharpening to razor-pointed. He closes his mouth to bump over sneezes (gross), and he locks his knees to fight the swaying. 

Kylo has never seen him sick before, but it’s nice to know he’s Human underneath. He stops paying attention to him. 

Until that afternoon, when Hux collars him. 

“Need to rate your Knights for energy efficiency.”

“What?”

“And monitor waste.”

“Hux, what are you talking about?”

“Green line.”

It’s now just a jumbled nonsense, and he can see the start of terror swelling in the man’s eyes. He’s aware he’s no longer lucid, and the knowledge floors him. 

“You’re running a temperature, General.”

“…energy… efficiency…”

“Did you go to the medbay yet?”

“What? No! No need!”

“I’m going to relieve you of your command until you–”

Kylo has never, ever seen someone go so _white_ so fast. 

“No…”

Oh for the love of… He was just going to take the man to the medbay. No one outranks him, so Kylo is the only one really able to intercede. “Fine. Back to your quarters.”

“I’ve got work,” Hux protests. 

“You’re no use like this. Get yourself through this, and then you can get back to work.”

“I can’t.” Horror, and it washes off him in waves. “I can’t be useless.”

“It’s a temporary… Fine. You can still monitor things from your bed. Delegate what you can, and we’ll get you through this.”

Kylo doesn’t know why he’s bothering, even if he’s the only one who can help. It’s not his job, and Hux doesn’t really deserve it, but… Ugh. 

***

Kylo slaps his hands off the tablet, and scowls at the man. He’s shivering intensely, but when he puts the sensor to his forehead, he’s burning up. 

“I’m going to need to run a sample, make sure this isn’t going to hit the troops,” Kylo mutters. “Open your mouth for a swab.”

“For the troops?”

“For the troops. You want them fighting fit.” It’s a good double-excuse, and Kylo slips the stick in for him to bite on. That way he can diagnose him and get a clue to prognosis and treatment. 

Hux opens wide, accepting the reason, and then settles. 

Kylo stares. It’s a simple bug, the machine says. One that the basic shots for the base would cover, or the baseline immuno-boosters. Now he’s affected, the best he can do is isolate, rest, and hydrate him. He grabs the hypo with the booster, and sees Hux’s head shake. 

“It won’t hurt,” he says, wondering if Hux has a hypospray phobia. “I can make you forget, or not feel it.”

“It’s not that,” Hux says, pulling his arms around him. “I’m not supposed to get sick.”

“What ridiculous nonsense is this? You think you’re superhuman?”

The thought in reply is too loud to ignore. _I’m not. That’s the problem._

Okay. “Why can’t you be sick?”

“…useless. Weak. Broken.” 

Just three words, and Kylo feels them. Hux really is upset by this minor failure, and whilst he could really take advantage of this, he doesn’t want to. He looks at the hypo.

It’s not life-threatening. To dose him against his will, no matter how dumb his refusal, would likely count as unethical. It’s stupid. Really stupid. But it will only last a short time, and Hux is out of the way and not really contagious. 

If he might die, it would be harder to accept his choice, but Hux seems to want to suffer. He… can understand that. To an extent. 

“It’s a small virus,” Kylo tells him, trying for tact. “You can work from here, slowly, until you recover. You’re not useless, and it’s something anyone could get. You’re under a lot of pressure, and it’s causing your system to strain.”

“If I was good enough, I wouldn’t be sick.”

“But you are, and it doesn’t make you less. And if you let me help you, you’ll be back to full strength in no time.”

Hux looks like he wants to hide, his face drawn. “No… No meds.”

“What’s acceptable?” Kylo asks, trying the gentle approach. 

“Soup. Tea.”

“Get yourself comfortable, I’ll get you soup and tea,” Kylo says. “Get under the covers if you’re cold. I’ll proof any comms you want to send to make sure there’s no typos.”

The General stares in confusion. “Why… are you helping me?”

“You can owe me a favour,” Kylo suggests. 

Hux climbs into bed. 

***

The first few hours are okay, before the fever really sets in. Kylo keeps him in fluids, helps him work, finds he’s better at that than he suspected. 

He can admire his dedication, when he sees the level of input Hux has. He’s doing real work, and it means everything to him. For a while it takes his mind off his body, but he deteriorates by degrees. 

Hux cries when he eases the tablet away. His hands shake, and Kylo gets a cold handtowel to dab at his brow. 

“I can’t,” Hux whines. “I have to…”

“Hux…” He feels the distress, and it’s awful. He watches the man’s face crumble, and he gently reaches out with the Force, siphoning off some pain and worry. 

“I can’t,” he repeats, and starts to sob. 

Kylo can’t help it, he sits on the bed and wraps his arms around him. Hux stiffens for a moment, then howls snottily into his neck. He runs a hand over his back, shhing him in ways he remembers from long, long ago. The words are less important than the tone, and he rocks him gently. 

“I can’t. I can’t be sick. It proves him right. I’m useless. I’m nothing. I can’t even work, I’m useless, and I deserve the pain…”

Kylo’s heart breaks, and he… Fuck it. He pulls his own helmet off at last, and pulls Hux under his chin before he looks up. 

“You’re anything but useless, Hux. You work harder than anyone else, and you believe in this. He was wrong. Would you keep shots and meds from your staff?”

“They need them,” he answers. 

“And you don’t?” Kylo pushes, gently. “It’s not a weakness to take medicine, or prevent problems. You’re Human, and he should never–”

“ _Don’t._ ”

“I’m sorry,” Kylo says, “…but parents aren’t always right.”

Hux sobs harder, and Kylo scoops him up into his lap. The illness is making it harder for him to contain his frustration, but Kylo knows the tension needs an outlet. Oh, he knows. 

He rocks him, letting the sobs fade to almost nothing. Hux goes limp against him, and hides his face, embarrassed. 

Kylo knows this over-sharing will humiliate him, so he tries to make it okay. “I was told that young boys had to sit part of all hyperspace journeys strapped in. It wasn’t until I mentioned it to my mother that I learned Han used it as an excuse to restrain me when I was too noisy,” he says. 

Hux laughs, weakly. “You fell for it?”

“He was very convincing.”

For a while, they just sit like that. Kylo can’t remember the last time he was so close to someone, but he… misses it. 

“I think I can sleep, now,” Hux says, and then chews his lip. 

Kylo gently slips from under him. 

“…and… the booster.”

Kylo smiles. “Of course.”

He applies the shot, and then pulls the blankets around him, tucking him in. He’s about to walk to the chair to sleep in when Hux reaches for his hand. Fingers brush, and then he rolls over to sleep. 

Parents. 

They fuck you up. 

Kylo is glad Hux is beginning to accept that. It’s not easy, and he hasn’t worked out for himself, yet, how you get fully past it. Maybe you never do, but as long as you let the medicines in, you can try.


End file.
